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  • Eric S. Branch v. Jeff Atwater, 11th Cir. (2015)

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    This document is a court case summary that: 1) Identifies the case as Eric Branch appealing the district court's dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 lawsuit challenging Florida's system for providing counsel to death row inmates in state post-conviction proceedings. 2) Notes that Branch argued the difference between the registry counsel system where his petition was filed and the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel system in the rest of Florida violated his equal protection rights. 3) States that the district court dismissed the complaint on statute of limitations grounds after rejecting Branch's argument that he was entitled to equitable tolling because he had been misled about filing a pro se § 1983 complaint.

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    Filed: 2015-06-26 Precedential Status: Non-Precedential Docket: 15-15488

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    This document is a court case summary that: 1) Identifies the case as Eric Branch appealing the district court's dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 lawsuit challenging Florida's system for providing counsel to death row inmates in state post-conviction proceedings. 2) Notes that Branch argued the difference between the registry counsel system where his petition was filed and the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel system in the rest of Florida violated his equal protection rights. 3) States that the district court dismissed the complaint on statute of limitations grounds after rejecting Branch's argument that he was entitled to equitable tolling because he had been misled about filing a pro se § 1983 complaint.

    Copyright:

    Public Domain
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    3 views3 pages

    Eric S. Branch v. Jeff Atwater, 11th Cir. (2015)

    Uploaded by

    Scribd Government Docs
    This document is a court case summary that: 1) Identifies the case as Eric Branch appealing the district court's dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 lawsuit challenging Florida's system for providing counsel to death row inmates in state post-conviction proceedings. 2) Notes that Branch argued the difference between the registry counsel system where his petition was filed and the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel system in the rest of Florida violated his equal protection rights. 3) States that the district court dismissed the complaint on statute of limitations grounds after rejecting Branch's argument that he was entitled to equitable tolling because he had been misled about filing a pro se § 1983 complaint.

    Copyright:

    Public Domain
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    of 3

    Case: 14-15488

    Date Filed: 06/26/2015

    Page: 1 of 3

    [DO NOT PUBLISH]

    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS


    FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
    ________________________
    No. 14-15488
    ________________________
    D.C. Docket No. 4:14-cv-00174-RH-CAS

    ERIC S. BRANCH,
    Plaintiff-Appellant,
    versus
    SECRETARY, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,
    Defendant,
    JEFF ATWATER,
    Chief Financial Officer, State of Florida,
    ALTON L. COLVIN,
    Executive Director of the Justice Administration Commission,
    Defendants-Appellees.
    ________________________
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Northern District of Florida
    ________________________
    (June 26, 2015)

    Case: 14-15488

    Date Filed: 06/26/2015

    Page: 2 of 3

    Before ED CARNES, Chief Judge, HULL and WILSON, Circuit Judges.


    PER CURIAM:
    This is Eric Branchs appeal from the district courts dismissal of his
    42 U.S.C. 1983 lawsuit challenging an aspect of Floridas system for providing
    counsel to prisoners under sentence of death for purposes of state post-conviction
    proceedings such as those filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851.
    The aspect of the system that Branch challenges is the difference that existed when
    he filed his state post-conviction petition between the registry counsel system in
    the region of the state where his petition was filed and the Capital Collateral
    Regional Counsel (CCRC) system in the rest of the state. That difference was the
    result of a pilot program designed to determine if a registry counsel system could
    provide adequate representation and resources more efficiently and at less cost than
    the CCRC system. Branch contends that the difference between the resources and
    representation provided to inmates like him in the district of the state he was in and
    that provided to the inmates in the other two districts of the state violated his Equal
    Protection rights.
    The district court dismissed the complaint on statute of limitations grounds
    after rejecting Branchs contention that he was entitled to equitable tolling because
    he had been misled by, or had misunderstood, what his counsel or the district court

    Case: 14-15488

    Date Filed: 06/26/2015

    Page: 3 of 3

    had said about whether Branch could file pro se a 1983 complaint like the one
    that was filed in this lawsuit.
    We affirm the dismissal on statute of limitations grounds for the reasons set
    out in the district courts order of November 11, 2014.
    AFFIRMED.

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